Accused Cop Killer Captured, Orlando Police Say

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(CNN) — The man accused of killing his pregnant ex-girlfriend and an Orlando police officer is in custody, officials said Tuesday night.

Markeith Loyd is suspected of shooting Sade Dixon on December 13, 2016, and police Lt. Debra Clayton outside a Walmart on January 9.

Someone at the store had contacted Clayton and told her Loyd was in the area, police said at the time. Loyd allegedly shot Clayton when she tried to approach him.

A nationwide manhunt ensued.

After his capture, Loyd was placed in Clayton’s handcuffs, according to a tweet from police Chief John Mina’s verified Twitter account. The circumstances of the arrest were not immediately available.

Three people have been accused of helping Loyd evade capture.

Police arrested Lakensha Smith Loyd, one of Loyd’s nieces, on January 11. Orange County deputies said in an arrest affidavit that she contacted people on behalf of her uncle after Dixon’s death. She indicated she was in contact with him after the shooting, the affidavit said.

She allegedly went to a restaurant where her uncle worked to pick up $200 as Loyd tried to avoid arrest.

A day earlier, police arrested Zarghee Mayan, who deputies said failed to contacted authorities after Loyd told him he killed Dixon.

Jameis Slaughter, Loyd’s ex-girlfriend, is accused of being an accessory after the fact. Authorities said she collected money for Loyd and lied to police about her communication with the suspect.

Slaughter said Loyd told her police would have to kill him because he wasn’t going back to prison, according to an affidavit from the Orange County Sheriff’s Office.

Authorities said the car of Jamesia Slaughter, Jameis’s twin sister, was seen near the Walmart 90 minutes after Clayton was killed.

Clayton was a master sergeant in the police department at the time of her killing; she was posthumously promoted to lieutenant.